1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vertically adjustable wheel assembly and, more particularly, to a wheel assembly adapted to support an appliance cabinet, such as a refrigerator or the like, upon a supporting surface.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
In various environments, it is often desirable to mount cabinets or other objects upon wheel assemblies such that the objects can be easily moved about a supporting surface. When the objects are quite heavy and/or when they have to be maneuvered into rather confined spaces, providing such wheel assemblies is particularly advantageous. In the art of household appliances, it has become a customary practice to equip heavy domestic appliances with wheel assemblies to enhance the mobility is of the appliances. When provided with supporting wheel assemblies, even a heavy household appliance, such as a refrigerator, can be readily moved by a single person for installation, repair, cleaning and other purposes.
Often times, it is also desirable to permit some degree of vertical adjustability between the cabinet or other object and the supporting surface. While the majority of household appliances are generally positioned upon surfaces which are relatively level, it has still been found beneficiary to provide some vertical adjustability of the wheel assemblies to ensure precise leveling of the appliances. This is particularly advantageous when applied to a typical refrigerator such that the front portion of the refrigerator can be slightly elevated so ensure that the doors will open and close as desired.
Many vertically adjustable wheel assemblies have been proposed and are currently in use in today's marketplace. As indicated above, it is even somewhat common to apply such adjustable wheel assemblies to household appliances, including refrigerators. Of course, when considering the use of an adjustable wheel assembly to an appliance cabinet, it is important that the application of the wheel assembly does not minimize the available internal useable volume of the appliance and, therefore, the adjustable wheel assembly should be as compact as possible. Of course, the adjustable wheel assembly must also be able to withstand the various loads placed thereon. Furthermore, consideration should be given to the ease of which the adjustable wheel assembly can be attached to the appliance cabinet, as the ability to readily incorporate the attachment of such wheel assemblies in the manufacturing of the appliance will have a hand in determining the viability of the overall arrangement. To date, prior art adjustable wheel assemblies known in the art simply fail to meet these desired objectives.
Therefore, there exists a need in the art for a vertically adjustable wheel assembly particularly adapted for movably supporting an appliance cabinet upon a supporting surface which will enable the internal useable volume of the refrigerator to be maximized, enhance an efficient attachment of the adjustable wheel assembly to the cabinet and provide for a sufficient amount of vertical adjustability, while exhibiting an extremely compact design.